One sharp-eyed member of the congregation asked about Abraham’ call.  Was he called out of Ur, or was he called out of Haran?  In my series on the Life of Abraham, I conclude that he was called out of Ur.  Here’s why.

In Genesis 11:27-32 we are shown that Ur of the Chaldeans, not Haran, was the place of Abram’s birth (vs. 28, 31).  In 12:1 Abraham is commanded by God to leave the place of his birth (“your country, NIV).  This can only refer to Ur of the Chaldeans, despite the fact that the narrative in chapter 12 makes no mention of it.

Chapter 11:27-32 serve to provide the “geological context” of chapter 12.  Geography is important to Abraham’s story in the working out of certain key themes, like the emphasis on traveling “eastward.”  Even though chapter 12 would suggest otherwise, the author seems to want the reader to understand Abram’s call was to leave Ur of the Chaldeans.  That this is the view of the author is confirmed later on in Genesis 15:7, where the author references the call of Abraham and sees it as a call from “Ur of the Chaldeans” rather than from Haran.  This is also the view of Nehemiah (9:7) and Luke (Acts 7:2-3).

I hope this clears up any confusion.  And I also hope this shows the urgent need for all of us to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).